In the era of minimal access thyroid surgery, the terms minimal access and minimally invasive are often used interchangeably and in most instances this is far from being accurate. The aim of this article is to examine the characteristics and potential of one of the first minimal access thyroid procedures described; minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT).

The purpose of this article was obtained by almost two decades of experiences with the procedure at the authors’ center, and a systemic literature review was undertaken of all available medical literature to evaluate available literature by conducting a PubMed search limited to articles originally written in English language between the years 1997 and 2016. The search was limited by using the terms: minimally invasive thyroid surgery, video-assisted, endoscopic, and robotic thyroidectomy. The procedure’s design, radicality and safety, learning curve, cost, advantages and disadvantages were addressed. MIVAT’s potential as a surgical tool for thyroid pathology was also addressed by evaluating its indications, contraindications, and limitations.

MIVAT is a gasless hybrid procedure that is comparable to conventional thyroidectomy (CT) in terms of radicality and safety, with the added advantage of reduced early postoperative voice and swallowing symptoms. MIVAT has a relatively rapid learning curve with an additional advantage over other minimal access procedures; the ability of being adopted by the low-volume surgeon at a cost and time comparable to CT, but with improved patient satisfaction. Furthermore, it is non-inferior to procedures free of a neck scar in terms of patient satisfaction. MIVAT’s main drawback is that it is limited by its strict selection criteria. It is a viable treatment option for all types of thyroid pathologies. However, its role in therapeutic neck dissection remains to be validated.

MIVAT is a safe and effective procedure which is obviously described in its name “minimally invasive”. It seems that in the era of innovative technologies and scarless-in-the neck thyroid surgery, MIVAT is here to stay.